The teams for tonight’s Premiership match between Sunderland and Liverpool at the Stadium of Light have been announced. One noteable absentee is Djibril Cisse, who joins Dietmar Hamann in being omitted from the squad. For Hamann the absence is more in recognition of allowing him time to recover for the next league game, but not so Cisse. The French striker did not even travel with the squad up to the North East, amidst rumours of a fresh bust-up with Rafa Benitez in training this week. Rafa said he’d cleared things up with Cisse over the subsitution at City last weekend. It’s since that interview that problems seem to have resurfaced. Cisse is not injured.
Sunderland: B Alnwick, J Hoyte, G Breen, S Caldwell, D Collins, D Whitehead, L Lawrence, C Bassila, T Miller, J Stead, C Brown
Subs: K Davis, A Welsh, N Nosworthy, A Gray, G Leadbitter
Liverpool: J Reina, S Finnan, S Hyypia, J Carragher, J Riise, S Gerrard, M Sissoko, X Alonso, S Luis Garcia, P Crouch, F Morientes
Subs: S Carson, H Kewell, D Traore, F Sinama Pongolle, S Warnock
Referee: P Dowd